Probably what keeps bringing people back to John Shuttleworth’s world in ever-greater numbers is not just his enthusiasm and unique songwriting but also the succession of small incidents in his life which he is happy to share.
His new song of lost icon one-hit wonder Vince Hill may have taken a darker, more morbid turn as Shuttleworth pondered mortality.
But the biggest tragedy to hit Shuttleworth personally in recent years has been banishment to the shed, as his keyboard-playing in the lounge disturbed his wife Mary’s television viewing.
All was not lost though. As revealed in a series of phone calls, there was always the option of buying his manager and sole agent Ken Worthington’s Hansel And Gretel chalet.
This new Shuttleworth show was short on new material – although he revealed another classic in the making with his celebratory Here Comes Midweek – with Shuttleworth focusing on fan favourites, such as a ragged grungy Smells Like White Spirit, and retelling a few stories.
But that is part of the warmth of the comic character – he is the sort of man who will happily retell the story of his neighbour Ken’s embarrassing turn on New Faces in 1973 until the cows come home.
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